Seasonal Change
by Beautifully Corrupted
Summary: Somewhere over the course of a year, between the stuffed tigers, strawberry milkshakes, picnics, blue dresses, scarves and pink thread stitches, the two of them had fallen in love. 4-shot, Bixanna.


_**Somewhere over the course of a year, between the stuffed tigers, strawberry milkshakes, picnics, blue dresses, scarves and pink thread stitches, the two of them had fallen in love. 4-shot, Bixanna.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>April Sixteenth: <strong>_

"You sure you want to do this?" Bixlow asked, "This is your last chance to back out."

The serious expression he was wearing shook Lisanna's resolve, but an image of a frustrated Elfman and a disappointed Mirajane crossed her mind and she nodded firmly. "I'm sure."

He grinned, in a way that almost creeped her out, and chuckled. "Let's do this."

Lisanna returned the grin, "I'll see you on the other side, soldier," after the words left her mouth she half regretted them.

But when he laughed and said, "Good luck out there, soldier, it's dangerous," playing along with her, she found herself looking at him with a joyful expression.

Really though, of all people, Bixlow was the one she expected to play along with her. Still, when it actually happened a strange kind of giddiness erupted.

Phase one was rather simple, at least it was for Lisanna. All she had to do was convince her siblings to go to a restaurant with her.

"Mira-nee," Lisanna called out, waving her hands about to catch her sisters attention.

With the smile that had won over most of Fiore, Mirajane looked up from the bartop she was polishing and responded, "Yes?"

Flouncing up to her with a wide smile, Lisanna said, "Mira-nee, do you think we can go out today? Just you, me and Elf-nii." her tone was just the right amount of hopeful and sweet to ensure she'd be getting her way. Just in case though, Lisanna threw in a pair of subtle puppy dog eyes.

Her sister relented almost immediately, "That's a wonderful idea Lisanna, I would love to. I'm sure Elfman would as well,"

Lisanna beamed brightly, "Great! I can't wait!"

"Just let me tell Master, you get Elfman, alright?"

"Okay, Mira-nee,"

Walking up to Elfman, the youngest sibling spoke, "Elf-nii, will you spend the day with Mira-nee and me? Please?"

Her brother reacted as predicted, he stuck his chest out and announced loudly, "Spending time with my sisters is the manly thing to do,"

As she said earlier, phase one was easy. In fact, the entire plan was pretty easy on her part. Bixlow was the one who was going to have to do the hard stuff.

XxX

Twenty minutes later, the elder Strauss siblings were growing curious. Lisanna was leading them into the forest east of Magnolia.

"So, Lisanna, where are you planning to take us?" Mirajane asked politely, trying her hardest not to seem as curious as she was.

Whereas Elfman wasn't trying to hide it, "It's somewhere manly, right?"

Lisanna just grinned, "It's a surprise. I promise you two will love it."

Though there was still inquiry on their faces, the response appeased them some. The three siblings continued the walk in a comfortable silence.

At least, for them. Lisanna was only a bit worried, there were lots of things that could go wrong. What if Bixlow hadn't managed to do his part?

Not that she'd blame him, Freed was unfailingly loyal to Laxus. Convincing him to go against him was something she wasn't completely sure could even happen.

Lisanna had made sure she was at least a few steps in front of her siblings, just as Bixlow had instructed her.

Even if it was a part of the plan, when a hand shot out to grab her she couldn't help the small squeak of surprise. Jamming her eyes shut, she allowed her body to be yanked against a tree.

Her eyes didn't open until she heard a yell coming from both of her siblings. It wasn't his eccentric appearance that caught her attention first, it was his finger. Pressed against his grinning lips in a universal 'be quite' gesture. A heat crawled up onto her cheeks when she realized just how close Bixlow was.

Her back was pressed uncomfortably against the bark of a tree. His figure was slouched over hers, and he was grinning. She couldn't be sure, but Lisanna was pretty sure that he wasn't nearly as flustered as she was.

It's just part of the plan, she repeated in her mind.

Wait the plan! They were here for a reason!

"Did it work?" she blamed the low tone for how shaky her voice sounded.

This, her and Bixlow hiding behind a tree, was a sort of precaution. Just in case things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to, and four angry wizards came at them. This way they'd have a better chance at escaping.

Casting a look around the trunk of the tree, Bixlow said with a normal tone, "Looks like it, wanna check?"

He backed away from her, standing at his full height again, and she nodded. Her heart rate calming down considerably as she pushed herself away from the tree.

The two cautiously made their way to the main pathway. Ready to run if need be.

When the two saw Freed standing over a deeply dug hole with a torn expression, their worries subsided. So far, the plan had gone accordingly.

Standing by their fellow green-haired conspirator, Lisanna cast a look down the hole.

Mirajane, Elfman, Evergreen and Laxus met her gaze with glares. The short-haired girl have a meek wave and backed away, not wanting to look at them anymore.

Bixlow looked skeptical, "You sure that's going to hold them, Freed?"

The ruin mage wore a serious expression, "Even Laxus will be forced to abide by the enchantments rules. The four of them will stay in there until they confess."

Bixlow clapped him on the back, "Good job, buddy,"

The ruin mage gave a curt nod, and cast a pitiful expression towards the hole. "I am doing this for your own good, Laxus. Please, forgive my methods."

The only thing that answered was silence, and Lisanna let out a low whistle, "Woah, I can't hear them at all. You're impressive,"

Freed only nodded, "I suggest the two of you leave now, as I said before, they'll be out as soon as they confess to one another, and I don't think you two would like to be around when that happens."

Normally, Lisanna would have scoffed at the idea of anything happening to her while Mira-nee and Elf-nii were around, but in this case she only shook her head. "You're right, I'm going to get the best head-start that I can."

Smiling at the two of them she said, "Thank you both," and proceeded to take off sprinting in the direction she came.

One thing she didn't expect to happen was for Bixlow to come striding up next to her, "What? Are you just going to leave a fellow soldier behind? That's very un-soldier-like of you, you know."

Marveling at how easily he matched her pace, she grinned cheekily, "Duly noted, I apologize for my un-soldier-like-ness."

The seith mage nodded, pleased with her response, and Lisanna noticed something. "Wait, where are your babies?"

Bixlow slowed down gradually coming to a stop. With his head cocked, he just stared. At least, that's what she thought he was doing, it was hard to tell with that visor of his.

After five seconds of this, she was getting uncomfortable, "What?"

He laughed, like nothing had happened. "They're at home. Last time I pissed Laxus off, he blew one of them up with his lightning. I'd rather not make another one, it's a long process you know?"

Suddenly he was running again, and she was struggling to keep up with his long strides. She didn't question his sudden staring, afraid she might not like the answer.

"Where are we going?" Lisanna panted.

He gave her an incredulous look, "I was just following you,"

Blue eyes widened, "How can you follow someone when you're leading?"

Casting a glance between the two of them, and noticing that he was indeed in front of her by a few paces, he chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I think I know just the place. But you'll have to keep up,"

"I can do that."

They were running again, and Lisanna noticed that he was going slower than before. She smiled.

There was no conversation, and she minded less and less. She didn't think about the tension, focused entirely on keeping up with him.

When they hit the city, they still didn't stop running. An hour wasn't a lot of time, and the wizards that were running from were fast. Walking would be dangerous.

Bixlow didn't give her any warning when he stopped. Lisanna just barely managed to keep from bulldozing into him.

"In here," he said, pointing towards a the building to their left. A small place, with a large sign that read 'JayBirds' in big neon letters.

There were no windows, just bricks and a door. "What is this place?" she asked as she followed him through into JayBirds.

"A restaurant,"

Lisanna paused, "We're going to eat right now? Shouldn't we be hiding or something?"

Bixlow chuckled, "I can't think of a better place to hide. 'Sides, I'm starving,"

She followed him to the nearest table, and after sitting in awkward silence for a few moments, she tried to make conversation, "Have you eaten here before?"

The man nodded his head, "Once. It's alright,"

"Oh...um...Bixlow?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's the menu?"

"Tch," he scoffed, "This place doesn't have menu's. Some bullshit about the owner priding himself in knowing what people want, so they're going to serve whatever they feel like."

Lisanna snorted, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

For what seemed like the first time, Bixlow smiled at her. Not grinned, or smirked at, but smiled.

"Well, at least those four will have a tough time finding us here. I'm hoping they're too busy jumping each other to chase after us."

She laughed, "I'm glad you agreed to help me. I was about to explode from all that tension."

"You're telling me. Not that he'll ever admit it, but Laxus almost let a baddie get away because he was contemplating if he should buy the barmaid a fancy bracelet he saw,"

Lisanna leaned forward in her chair, "I remember that! Mira-nee was practically floating on clouds when she came home that day. When I asked who got her the bracelet, she tried to act nonchalant and said Laxus, but I could hear the excitement in her voice,"

"Yeah, and when Laxus saw her wearing it the next day, he actually giggled!" Bixlow shook his head in astonishment, "But they're nothing compared to your brother and Ever, those two are something else."

The two recounted stories, and affectionate complaints, involving the couples until their food arrived. For Bixlow one plate with some kind of meat (she really wasn't sure) and potatoes. Lisanna on the other hand got fried cuttlefish and green beans.

To say she was surprised when she took her first bite would be an understatement.

With wide semi-accusing eyes, the white-haired girl looked at Bixlow, "You lied to me."

"What makes you say that?"

She gestured to her plate of deliciousness, "You said it was alright, this is not alright. It's...it's wonderful."

"Really? You think so?"

Lisanna gawked at him in bewilderment, "You don't?"

He shrugged, "Like I said, it's alright."

"Clearly, you have never tried what I'm having," she declared.

He gave a smirk, "Please, allow me to have a bite of your 'oh-so-amazing' food and enlighten me,"

The take-over mage bit the inside of her cheek debating over it, "Only if you let me have a bite of yours."

Now it was _his_ turn to be shocked. Bixlow clearly hadn't expected her to say yes. To his credit, he recovered quickly, "Deal,"

After exchanging food, she looked at him expectantly. He was obviously going to be in awe of the amazing food (not that his meat-which she now knew was pork- wasn't amazing as well) and apologize for doubting her.

He didn't.

"I stand by my statement, it's alright."

Offended, Lisanna took her plate back, "You think you could do any better?"

Bixlow scoffed, "I know I can."

Inquisitively she asked, "You cook?"

The blue-haired man nodded, "Don't tell Freed though, he'll start insisting I make food while we're on jobs. The last thing I want to do is cook for the ungrateful lot of them,"

Taking another bite of her food, she said, "I didn't know you did that."

He looked at her in amusement, "There's a lot you don't know about me,"

Lisanna couldn't help but think maybe she should change that.

* * *

><p><em><strong>May Tenth <strong>_

After that eventful day, not only did Lisanna and Bixlow survive to tell the tale, but Evergreen and Elfman officially started dating, followed shortly by Laxus and Mirajane announcing their relationship.

Bixlow wasn't one of those sappy idiots who gushed over how happy he was that his friends were finally dating someone. He definitely wasn't one of those poor suckers that listened to their relationship problems, because that was Freed's job, and he would probably just end up getting punched.

As far as Bixlow was concerned, everything was the same as always minus Evergreen's troublesome crush on Mr. Manly Man and Laxus' constant over-the-top nonchalance when it came to the barmaid.

So, if anything, his life got better.

Why?

Because double dates were probably the best thing ever. Period. Not only did it get Evergreen out of his hair, but Laxus as well.

As much as he liked his friends, and admired Laxus, alone time was absolutely spectacular. He could go about his business in peace, which is precisely what he was doing at the moment.

Bixlow was shopping, and he _couldn't_ be happier.

There was no Freed trying to act all knowledgeable, Evergreen wasn't making snide remarks about what type of cheese he choose, and Laxus wasn't there telling him to hurry.

It was just him, his babies, and aisles upon aisles of food.

Not even the frightened eyes of the townspeople bothered him. Not that they did on a normal day, but the point is he was very very happy.

With almost too much enjoyment, he took his sweet time choosing what cheese he wanted to buy.

Bixlow was in his own little world of pure satisfaction, until he heard a loud feminine shout of frustration coming from near the check-out aisle. As the cheese just so happened to be placed close to the registers.

Being the curious man that he was, he cast a look over the the source of the scream. The sight he was greeted with was somewhat hilarious and somewhat confusing. Surrounded by five paper bags of food was one Lisanna Strauss. She didn't look happy.

He had no clue why, and chose not to think about it because over-thinking something like this could lead to some very bad things, but he approached her.

"What's going on?"

At his question, Lisanna's head snapped up and she looked like a child caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Her blue eyes were wide and her jaw dropped slightly.

After a few moments she answered, "Um...I'm grocery shopping."

"I can see that." Bixlow said, while his babies chirped "See that, See that,"

The white-haired girl shifted uncomfortably, and she was gazing at the floor. "I...uh…" she started, and a small blush came painted her cheeks, "I...kind of bought too much for me to carry back home."

He eyed the groceries and sighed, "Alright. Hold on, I'm going to pay for my food and I'll help you out."

Once again, her eyes were on him, and she asked in surprise, "What? Really?"

Behind his visor, Bixlow was rolling his own eyes, "Yes, really."

Five minutes later, Bixlow was staring at his groceries and hers. In total, they had eleven bags, which was a pretty good number.

"Alright, here's the plan. We each carry two bags, and then my babies can carry the rest. Okay?"

Lisanna nodded, her embarrassment fading, she picked up two bags.

Once they were all set, the pair was walking down the street with seven wobbly dolls following behind them.

Bixlow felt awkward as they walked in silence, but didn't start the conversation.

She did, with a smile that caught him off guard, "Thanks for helping me,"

His response was, "You're welcome. Why'd you buy this much food anyway?"

Shuffling her feet, she sighed, "This is what I always buy, but I go shopping with Elf-nii and Mira-nee, I didn't think about how I'd carry it."

"So, why didn't you go with them this time?"

"Because they're out with Laxus and Evergreen,"

He raised an eyebrow, "Why not wait?"

She looked up at him in exasperation, "Because, I can't just sit around and wait all the time. I don't want to sit at home alone all night, okay?"

If he weren't carrying groceries, he would have held his hands up in surrender. "Fair enough. Besides, shopping alone is so much easier,"

"You think so?"

He chuckled, "Absolutely. Shopping with Laxus, Freed and Ever is a nightmare. Laxus ain't that bad, except he's always in a hurry. Freed is always acting like he knows everything about every type of food out there. Ever's the worst though, crazy fairy woman criticizes everything I put in the damn cart."

From their struggling positions his babies repeated, "_Crazy fairy woman_," and "_Nightmare_,"

Lisanna snickered, "Mira-nee is super competitive. She always gets the best deals though. Elf-nii always insists on buying _every type of meat,_"

"Where do you live anyway?"

"Just another block that way, what about you?"

He pointed in the opposite direction of her house, "About a block that way."

"Oh."

He grinned lecherously, "So where to first, my place or yours?"

To be honest, he didn't think she'd get the joke right away. But the half-laugh half-snort he got in return told him otherwise. Ever was still trying, and failing, to turn him into a proper gentleman. Which meant that every inappropriate comment he made was faced with her wrath.

Lisanna didn't hit him.

In all his years, this was a first. Bixlow was used to making perverted jokes and getting hit, yelled at or otherwise abused. Growing up with the forever lady-like Evergreen had made sure of that.

The short haired girl did none of those things, she just smiled and started walking towards her house. He was still trying to figure out why she didn't react when Lisanna called over her shoulder, "You coming?"

He gave an uncharacteristically small smile, before calling out.

"Sheesh woman! Quit walking so fast!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>May Twenty Seventh<strong>_

It was the best kind of chaos. The streets were lined with colors and lights. Gleeful chatter echoed through the night, and Lisanna was in the midst of everything.

Walking down the pathway, she licked her ice-cream with content. She'd had a nice time today, it was certainly memorable.

She thought of Mirajane laughing with no restraint as they looked at the portrait that had been painted of them. She thought of Elfman's blushing face when he'd been forced to get face paint along with his sisters. Countless memories had been made.

Lisanna was undoubtedly pleased.

Walking home alone was the only damper of her night, but she didn't mind much. In fact, it was a noble sacrifice if it meant her siblings could enjoy a romantic evening with their partners.

She looked at the stands again, and confirmed that it definitely was a romantic evening. The night sky was clear exposing the moon and stars in the most breathtaking way. Couples were everywhere, making the most of this opportunity.

It was a bit funny, Lisanna thought, during the day this festival had been a place for family fun. But once the sun set it was morphed into the romantic paradise little girls dreamed of.

One booth in particular caught her eye, a dart booth. As she stared, the couple standing there morphed into Mirajane and Laxus. Her sister encouraging the nonchalant dragon-slayer with a wide smile, and him handing her the biggest prize available when he won.

She giggled at the thought of Evergreen demanding Elfman to win her something as well.

"If you keep doing that, people are going to think you're crazy."

Lisanna whirled around at the familiar voice. Standing behind her was Bixlow with a teasing grin. Her eyes widened, he wasn't wearing his visor. "Keep doing what?"

He wasn't really handsome, she observed thoughtfully. His hair was strange, and his features were angular. That didn't mean he wasn't attractive though, there was something about him. While not traditionally good-looking, he had a wildness about him.

"Giggling to yourself like a maniac," he evaluated.

Rolling her eyes, she asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

He shrugged, "I was hanging out with Laxus and the Raijinshuu. Then they ran off to hang out with your siblings. 'Cept Freed, he just said he had some stuff to do and took off."

She nodded, "Yeah, I was just heading home. Hanging around here alone isn't exactly my idea of fun,"

Bixlow raised an eyebrow, "You're going to leave before the firework show? That's the best part!"

"Well, it won't be happening for another three hours. Just what am I supposed to do until then?"

He grinned, "Hang out with me."

It wasn't a question, invitation or a demand. Just a statement, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lisanna thought about it for a few seconds, and then realized that her other option was going home alone. She smiled, "Alright, let's go,"

With the hand that wasn't holding her ice-cream, she snatched his wrist and dragged him over to the dart booth.

She eagerly examined the stuffed animal prizes, deciding which one she wanted should she win. Of course, her eyes settled upon the large stuffed tiger. The grand prize.

In order to win it, she'd have to pop four balloons with the three darts provided.

"How is that even possible?" she muttered.

Beside her, Bixlow chuckled, "You going for the tiger?"

"Yup,"

He didn't say anything else, just laughed.

When it was their turn, Lisanna went first. Picking up one of the darts, she carefully eyed each of the balloons and smiled. There were some close enough that she'd be able to pop two in one hit, if she got it just right.

The game-woman read off the rules, no magic, three darts per person and if you wanted to go again, you'd have to go to the end of the line.

Concentrating heavily on the throw, she pulled her right hand back, and flung the dart at her first target. Successfully popping one balloon. One down, three to go. Repeating the process, she popped yet another balloon. All she had to do now was pop two more, picking up her last dart, Lisanna looked towards one of the clusters of balloons, and shot.

The dart soared through the air, and didn't pop a thing.

Her lips formed into a pout, and she sighed. "Damn."

Bixlow shook his head, "Don't sweat it, I got this,"

Lisanna watched curiously as the man picked up a dart, and looked back at her. "I can do this without even looking," he bragged.

She raised a single eyebrow, and said challengingly, "Prove it."

He grinned the way that only he did, and while maintaining eye-contact with her, threw the dart.

The object flew with as much arrogance as he had, and because fate hated Lisanna, popped the very two she had been trying to get.

"H-How?"

"Shh, I'm not done yet."

This time, instead of merely maintaining eye-contact with her, he covered his eyes with his other hand. Another two balloons popped.

Four balloons with two darts.

The game-woman was mildly surprised, but didn't linger on it too much, she handed Bixlow the stuffed tiger.

As they were walking away, Lisanna spoke, "Well?"

He looked down at her, and she was really aware of how much taller he was, in surprise. "Well what?"

"Aren't you going to give it to me?"

If he wasn't surprised before, then he certainly was now, "Why would I do that? I won it fair and square!"

Lisanna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Because, that's what guys do. They win the prize and give it to the girl."

"Excuse me?" Bixlow retorted with mock-offense, "I happen to like this tiger very much. I'm even thinking about naming it."

She huffed, and sidestepped the topic, more than a little embarrassed. "How did you even get that good at darts?"

"I practiced a lot when I was a kid."

Her blue eyes widened, she'd never heard anything about Bixlow's past. Or any of the Raijinshuu for that matter. But based on the tone in his voice, it didn't seem like something he was interested in sharing.

The takeover mage skipped ahead, before spinning around on one heel to face him "What do you want to do next?"

"What about some more games?"

XxX

And so three hours passed by quickly. With Lisanna trying her damned hardest to win a prize, and Bixlow effortlessly skimming through all of them. Lisanna had nothing to show for her efforts except a small stuffed fish. Bixlow on the other hand, was carrying a large bag (which he won in the apple bobbing competition) of stuffed animals and other prizes.

However, as time ticked by, she was mildly aware of the way they seemed to get closer every minute. Going from an unfamiliar distance to his arm brushing against her shoulder every so often. Not that it bothered her.

She was actually having more fun than she'd thought. His teasing words, sharp wit and tongue wagging grin were strangely endearing.

Lisanna looked around, seeing people migrate towards the firework show. She was surprised when Bixlow walked in the opposite direction.

"Don't you want to see the fireworks?" she asked in confusion.

"What makes you think I don't?"

"You're going the wrong way."

He laughed, "Come on, I'll show you something. We better hurry though,"

She should have known, nothing with Bixlow was ever conventional. Even so, she found herself jogging along side him. Conventional or not, it sure was fun.

He stopped next to a large tree. Setting his bag of prizes at the base of the trunk, he swung himself onto the first branch.

Stretching his hand out towards Lisanna he said, "Grab my hand, I'll help you up here."

The white-haired girl ignored his hand, choosing to retort stubbornly, "I can climb a tree on my own."

Bixlow nodded, taking his hand back and making his way up to a more sturdy sitting place. That didn't stop him from casting a look back every so often to watch Lisanna follow him up.

She hadn't done so with the same flawless grace he'd used, but she'd gotten up there none the less. And when she finally reached where he was, her breath was about knocked out of her at the sight.

There was only one thing she could think of to say, "Woah."

Chuckling, Bixlow said, "Best seats in the house,"

Though they were a distance from the show itself, the view was clear. She could see the families, couples and workers all seated in the grass anxious for the fireworks to start.

The sky was beautifully clear, with the moon illuminating perfectly. "This is amazing," she cast a sideways glance towards Bixlow, and bit her lip, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure,"

"Why aren't you wearing your visor?"

Bixlow leaned his side against the base of the tree, and shrugged, "I was hanging out with the rest of the Raijinshuu earlier, and Ever asked me not to draw too much attention. So I decided I'd skip the visor,"

She nodded, accepting the information. "You know, you look nice without it."

The only response she got was another grin, and if he were going to say something, it was cut off by the firework show.

Lisanna watched the exploding colors in awe. She cast her eyes down towards the crowd in a search for familiar faces. She saw Mirajane, Laxus, Evergreen and Elfman first, each couple incomparably romantic in their own way. She could see Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, curled up together watching the fireworks. A blushing Gray sitting next to an ecstatic Juvia.

Then she looked at Bixlow, sitting beside her resembling a child with his enthusiasm. A small smile pushed at the corners of her mouth, and she was glad she hadn't gone home.

Thirty minutes later when the firework show was over, Lisanna and Bixlow swung down from the tree.

"I had fun," she said softly, picking up her fish.

Bixlow grinned, "I wouldn't be saying that just yet, the night isn't quite over,"

"Oh, really?"

Reaching into his bag of prizes, he pulled out the giant tiger from the dart booth. "Really." he said handing it to her.

She accepted the furry animal, looking at it in surprise for a few seconds. By the time Lisanna looked up, Bixlow was already walking away. "See ya," he called without looking back.

She clutched the tiger to her chest and waved enthusiastically, "Good Night, Bixlow!"

Later, when Mirajane came home with a just about every prize the fair had to offer, Lisanna looked at her fish and tiger with a smile.

* * *

><p><em><strong>June Nineteenth <strong>_

Standing in front of the request board, Bixlow studied the flyers with a keen eye. The barmaid had oh-so-sweetly informed him of the perfect job request for him. He knew what that meant.

Sure enough, he soon saw just what he expected. In obnoxious lettering a flyer requested someone to help with a spirit infestation.

He gave a long sigh, and plucked the flyer from the board. Reading it over quickly, he gave _another _sigh. The job was a day's train ride from Magnolia. Which meant that he and his babies would have to go sit on a train for an entire day and amuse themselves.

The Raijinshuu had a system. Normally, they would take S-class jobs together, split the reward and be on their way. However, there were some jobs that they took on individually based on their skill sets. For example, Laxus would help out villages that lost their power, Freed would help catch wild animals with his traps, and Evergreen would help out with gardening stuff.

Bixlow took care of stray spirits.

It wasn't like these were hard jobs, just annoyingly unpleasant. Spirits were unruly pranksters that drove him up the wall half the time. Trying to catch them was damn irritating. More often than not, they wouldn't be harmful, just annoying.

With his power, he was the most capable of this request. That didn't make it easy. Looking at the reward made him feel a little better though. His favorite thing about these jobs was they paid ridiculous amounts of money, this one was 90,000J.

He turned around and waved a hand at Mirajane, letting her know he would be taking the job immediately. When he caught her eye, the barmaid nodded and he took that as a sign to go about his merry way.

Until he heard a voice from behind him, "What'cha doing?"

He turned around to see Lisanna with her head cocked curiously to the side. Bixlow gave her a large grin, "I'm heading out on a job,"

Her eyebrows furrowed together, "You're going alone?"

"Yeah,"

Before he could stop her, Lisanna grabbed the request flyer and began reading it. "What are you doing?" he protested trying to take the paper back.

She outstretched one hand in an attempt to keep him at bay until she finished reading. He managed to get the paper away from her before she could finish. Lisanna crossed her arms and stubbornly declared, "I'm going with you."

He raised an unseen eyebrow. "Are you now?"

"I am."

"And what if I don't want to split the pay with you?"

Lisanna grinned cheekily, "Then that's too bad,"

Bixlow tutted, "Anyone ever tell you you're pushy,"

"Anyone ever tell you you're a jerk,"

"Would a jerk let you come on his mission with him?"

"No one said the jerk had to be a man."

The seith mage blinked, and then let out guffaw. "You're ridiculous." he stated grinning. "But you're amusing so you can come,"

Lisanna beamed, "Great, I'm just going to tell Mira-nee and we can be on our way,"

The tall man nodded, and watched her flounce off towards her sister. Shaking his head, he leaned against the door frame and waited for her to come back.

Twenty minutes later the two of them were walking into the train station with his babies buzzing about excitedly. Since the shopping incident, they'd taken quite a liking to Lisanna.

There were people bustling around everywhere, except of course if it meant crossing paths with him. As always, crowds seemed to disperse because of his presence. He didn't mind though, less work for him.

He turned to Lisanna, "I'll go get the tickets, wait here, alright?" while his babies tittered around him, "Tickets," and "Wait,"

Her eyes snapped up towards him, and she smiled, "Alright!"

Bixlow made his way towards the ticket stand, and gave the man his tongue wagging grin sliding over the money he said. "Two tickets to Ordishu,"

The man looked up at him with wide eyes, and nodded quickly. Taking the money, the employee handed him the tickets and pointed towards a train on the opposite side of the station. "I-It's that one. It'll be l-leaving in o-one minute," he stuttered.

Behind his visor, Bixlow gave the man a shocked look and snatched the tickets. "You could have mentioned that sooner!" he snapped, before jogging quickly towards the train.

When Lisanna noticed him, he shouted, "Our train is leaving, come on!" and she was running right along with him.

The duo made it in time, but only barely. Once they were safely boarded on the train, a panting Lisanna looked at him with mock-accusation, "Why is it that I'm always running around with you?"

"Cause you're always chasing after me,"

"I wouldn't have to if you quit running all the time,"

"I'm hard to catch,"

Lisanna scoffed, and shook her head. Noticing that people were staring, she began searching for somewhere to sit. He followed behind her, wiggling his way through the walkway.

Once they were seated, he noticed the white-haired girls broad smile. "Why are you so happy?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Am I not allowed to be?"

"Never said that, I just asked why,"

"Well if you must know," she paused to give a theatrical sigh, "This is the first real job I've been on in weeks,"

Bixlow's face lit up with curiosity, "Why?"

Shrugging Lisanna answered, "I just haven't gotten a chance to do anything. I live with Mira-nee and Elf-nii, so it's not like we need the money. The last job I did was at a pet shelter,"

The blue-haired man faked offense, "So you're only using me for a job?"

The young woman beamed innocently, "Of course,"

He placed his hand over his heart and winced, "You wound me so,"

When she laughed, his babies rose from their current position and tittered around her. Much to the dismay of the other passengers. She, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind.

In fact, she continued the conversation as though wooden dolls weren't swarming around her. "What have you been up to then?"

Her question sparked a rather exaggerated version of his week, which led to a heated debate about frozen yogurt flavors, and finally faded into teasing banter that kept both of them entertained.

Lisanna stretched her arms out, and yawned, "I'm tired,"

"Thanks for the status update,"

Bixlow watched as her face morphed into what was quite possibly the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. Her cheeks puffed out, like they did when she was mad, but she was too sleepy to have anything resembling a glare.

His babies had already began to rest, and were currently placed in a neat row beneath his seat. Shaking his head, he spoke, "Try to catch some sleep, it'll be another hour or two until we get there anyway,"

Nodding, the white-haired girl yawned again, and settled against the wall. Bixlow shifted against the back of his seat and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before the two of them had fallen asleep.

XxX

The glaringly loud sound of a train whistle woke them both up with a jolt. Lisanna was refreshed and ready for anything the job had to throw at her.

"I remember when I was that eager. So full of hope and determination. Ah, what a fool I was," Bixlow reminisced as his babies chattered around him.

Lisanna tucked both hands behind her back and skipped ahead. Turning on her heel to face him she spoke, "It's just a little ghost, I don't see why you're dreading it so much,"

Shaking his head, Bixlow laughed, "You'll learn, Lisanna. You'll learn."

Oh, and learn she did. Covered in mud, twigs, and leaves, the youngest Strauss sibling glared furiously at the spot where she thought the spirit was running amuck.

At her side, also covered in mud, Bixlow mocked her with a snarky tone, "It's just a little ghost."

Exasperated, she turned around on him, "I didn't know they were like this!"

He didn't bat an eye at her snappy tone, not that she expected him to, instead he drawled, "What did you expect? That it would listen if we said please?"

"No! I just didn't think it'd be this hard,"

"I told you so."

Lisanna scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "Isn't this like your specialty? Can't you use your figure eyes on it?"

If she could see his face from behind that visor, she was damn sure she'd see him rolling his eyes. He used an 'duh it's so obvious' tone when speaking, "My figure eyes only work when I make eye contact with the soul."

"Oh. Well that's not very useful," Lisanna pouted.

Bixlow looked at her incredulously, "It's a whole lot more useful than your cosplay nonsense!" he accused while his babies echoed "cosplay" and "nonsense"

"It's not cosplay! I'm a takeover mage!"

"Tomato, Tomato." he said dismissively, "Either way, you're not much help yourself,"

Lisanna looked at him, and then down at the little lake of mud they were sitting in. Before really taking time to think it over, she had already splashed it at him. Her eyes widened as she stared at the offending limb, and then back at Bixlow who was staring at her.

"Did you just splash mud at me?"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't-ACK!" Lisanna let out a loud squeak when she felt the cool gritty mud hit her.

She glared accusingly at the now grinning Bixlow, and flicked another round of mud at him. He retaliated, which lead to her own counter attack, and quickly evolved into a full fledged war with mud.

It was silly, really it was. They were two adults on a very serious job to get rid of a wandering soul that was causing trouble, yet here they were playing around in the mud like five-year-olds. But dammit all if Lisanna wasn't having fun. As the two of them squirmed around splattering one another with mud she was _laughing. _

Even the little tiki dolls were getting in on it, targetting one another with the offending substance. Lisanna matched Bixlow's grin, and let go of any hesitation she had. Scooping as much mud as she could, she flung it at him all at him and scooted away as much as she could afterwards.

It continued like this until both mages were chuckling between exhausted pants. Lisanna was entirely certain that she'd be cleaning mud out of her hair for weeks, but it was worth it. Every last second she'd spend scrubbing the filth off of her skin was worth it.

She cast her eyes upward, to see Bixlow standing there so absurdly tall. He stretched his long arm towards her, and he looked so absolutely ridiculous that it made her cheeks sore with the amount of smiling she was doing. The mud on his visor was already starting to dry, and he was giving one of those tongue wagging grins that showed off his unusual guildmark.

"What'dda ya say we catch a spirit?"

Lisanna grabbed his arm with a smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the rushed ending, I had a bit of a hard time figuring out how to end it. This is the first of four chapters :) I'll be doing all of them in this format, I hope you enjoyed the story! I can't tell you when the next chapter will be up, other than when I finish writing it. Don't worry about me dropping the story though, because I already have everything mapped out. Bixlow and Lisanna are just such a fun couple! I love writing for them! <strong>

**Preview for the next chapter: **

"Don't jump, Bixlow. I swear if you jump off, I will strangle you."


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